When you cook, there’s a lot of finagling that goes on. Chop this, pitch that. Saute this, trash that. It can turn into an hours-long process. With the Workbench Cutting Board, Aussie celebrity chef Curtis Stone created what should be a time saver. Strangely, it’s not all that usable.
What Is It?
A cutting board married with several kitchen utensils.
Who’s it For?
People who cook and have giant apartments with lots of storage space.
Design
Made out of Victorian Ash, it’s a good-looking hunk of wood and contains three cup-sized wells to scrape your veggies into as you work. There’s also a giant drawer where you can throw skins, stems and other things you’ll want to throw away later.
Using It
At 22 inches x 14 inches, It literally took up my entire counter. It’s also pretty tall, so if you have high counters, it’s hard to get a good angle on, say, mincing an onion. It’s so large that its size is actually a deterrent from using it.
The Best Part
Despite some flaws, the inclusion of the cups and the scrap bin make it convenient if you’re preparing something with a lot of steps. I made this Moroccan tomato soup that required me to dice up about six tomatoes.
Tragic Flaw
It’s so heavy that it’s really hard to store. It comes apart into several pieces not unlike a shoe box — there’s the top part, which is the actual cutting board, and the bottom well, which houses the measuring cups and dumpster. There is lots of unused space in the bottom, and it’s so big that it’s awkward to put back together and clean.
This Is Weird…
The embedded measuring cups are a good idea in theory, but they’re too small. There’s really not enough room to house all the ingredients you need for one dish. And the irony is that it’s a really big product, so its creators could conceivably have doubled the capacity. But they didn’t.
Test Notes
I used a set of Wustof knives. It’s also worth pointing out that my kitchen is really small.
Should You Buy It?
The idea behind this thing is really amazing, but it borders on something you can buy off a late-night infomercial because of its usability issues. Honestly, this is a product my grandmother would order off TV, and I’m pretty sure she has bought something similar before. It also has a $US300 price tag. So unless you have a huge kitchen, counters sitting at a perfect height and money to burn, no.
Curtis Stone Work Bench Cutting Board
• Wood: Victorian Ash
• Measuring cups: stainless steel
• Dimensions: 22 inches x 14 inches
• Weight: 6kg
• Price: $US300